Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 18 · 2026-11-04

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The chart below shows the number of households in the US by their annual income in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.0)

the bar graph demonstrate the number of households(in miillions) in the US by their yearly income during the year of 2007, 2011 and 2015.

It is noticiable that, the highest income in the US was 2015 which represent $100,000 or more. However in 2011, there was lowest annual which is about $75000-$99999..

Looking towards the information, the 25 millions households earned less than 25,000 dollars in 2007 but in 2011 the number of households rise and reached approximately 28 millions households. Similarly, 25 millions individuals are earning approximately 25000 to 49,999 dollars.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the chart’s subject and report a few relevant figures, including the rise in households earning under $25,000 from about 25 million in 2007 to around 28 million in 2011. However, the response addresses the task only partially: it gives no complete overview of the main patterns and covers only a small part of the five income groups. The claim that the lowest annual income was in the $75,000–$99,999 group in 2011 is inaccurate; that group was lowest in all three years, while the $50,000–$74,999 group remained stable at about 21 million. The final comparison is also unclear and does not match the chart’s 2007 figure for the $25,000–$49,999 group. The response is 58 words below the required minimum, leaving too little space to summarise and compare the data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic sequence: an opening sentence introduces the chart, followed by a brief overview-like statement and then selected details. Linking expressions such as “However” and “Similarly” show an attempt to connect ideas. Nevertheless, the response has no clear paragraph development or progression through the years and income categories, and the final sentence is difficult to connect to the preceding figures. “Similarly” does not establish a clear comparison, while “Looking towards the information” adds little to the organisation. A clearer structure would separate an accurate overview from a paragraph comparing the main figures, using references such as “By contrast” only where the data support them.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant chart vocabulary, including “number of households,” “annual income,” “approximately,” and “reached,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate or awkward, such as “the highest income … was 2015,” which confuses an income category with a year, and “lowest annual,” which does not clearly describe the lowest household count. There are also spelling errors in “miillions” and “noticiable,” and the repeated use of “households” and “number” makes the short response less precise. Use the income bands as the subject of comparisons and choose standard chart-reporting phrases to make the data easier to follow.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes simple statements and an attempt at a more complex contrast, for example, “but in 2011 the number of households rise and reached…” This shows some sentence variety, but control is inconsistent. In that clause, the verb form should be “rose,” and the sentence shifts awkwardly between past data and “are earning.” The opening also needs a plural verb (“the bar graph demonstrates”) and clearer article and preposition use. Punctuation is unreliable, including the comma after “It is noticeable that” and the doubled full stop at the end of the second sentence. These errors do not make every point impossible to understand, but they reduce accuracy; practise consistent past-tense reporting and complete, well-punctuated comparisons.

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